Another chapter of the main series stories! :D

Chapter One

Jace landed outside of Declan's house. He'd checked all of his regular spots in the Nether for his chat-pad; he'd checked near Tom's house; and he'd inspected around Tucker and Sonja's house. Declan's was the only place he'd been that he hadn't double-checked, and it was only around the Portal and garden. He wasn't sure where he could have misplaced it if it wasn't at the priest's house, seeing as he had yet to really learn how to teleport like Dianite and Furia could.

He wandered around Declan's home before his gaze fell to the area behind the Nether portal. Declan was standing just beyond the portal, his back to Jace. Jace started toward him, catching the priest mumbling to himself, "Remove my plants, will you?"

"Something wrong, Dec?" He asked, drawing up next to Declan.

"My garden just suddenly disappeared. Not the dirt, but the plants, at least. Maybe it was Tom," Declan said, gesturing to the now empty plot of land where carrots, potatoes, and wheat once grew.

Jace frowned, looking out over the empty garden. Declan always put so much love and effort into his plants. Sometimes, it was relaxing even to Jace just to sit and watch as the man tended to his garden. Declan would hum and tell stories while he did it, and Jace really enjoyed the strange peace that came over him whenever he hung out with the priest.

"I wouldn't have put it past Tom, but he doesn't do that without replanting," Jace reasoned, "Yours and the community stuff's the only things Tom doesn't screw with. Intentionally."

"Well… how did it go, then?" Declan inquired before he shook his head, turning his attention to Jace as though he was trying to ignore the loss he likely felt. "Anyway, what brings you here, Jace?"

Jace blinked, looking away from what had once been a very productive garden. "Huh? Oh, right. I lost my chat-pad sometime between last night and this morning. I don't suppose you've seen it, have you?"

Declan shook his head again. "Sorry, I haven't. Perhaps the thief also took your pad?" He suggested.

"Maybe," Jace agreed. "They must've taken Jay's, too, but he was saying that he never takes it off, and Lara's a really light sleeper. I could never get away with anything as a kid; she'd always wake up when I got within five feet of her. And with them sleeping in the same place, well…"

The priest frowned. "I'll try and contact the gods, Jace. Maybe they will know who did this."

Jace nodded, noticing that Declan seemed to consider their conversation done. He kicked off of the ground and decided to leave the priest to repair his lost supplies. "I'll go see if anyone else has lost anything. Thanks, Dec."

He turned and pumped his wings, flying in the direction of Tom's base. Dianite's follower was the easiest to talk to first, since Tom was likely to be the most open with him without him attempting to pry any information out of him. Tucker and Sonja would likely be the most difficult, if only because they would probably prefer to deal with Lara or Mianite over mentioning it to Jace – though not out of spite or distaste as much as out of playful distrust. Jordan would likely tell him, too, just not as easily as Tom would.

He landed outside of Tom's base and knocked on the door. When Tom didn't immediately open the door, Jace landed and frowned. He tipped his head, reaching forward to knock again, and then stopped when he heard something move around in the house.

"Mate, is that you, Jay I'm not fallin' for the pressure plate again," a familiar voice called.

Jace snickered and waited until Tom warily approached the window. The Mianitee had a sword in his hands and was looking out at him at first with a dangerous, threatening glance. Admittedly, Jace knew that Jay would only be encouraged by the silent challenge in Tom's eyes, so he wondered why Tom even bothered to try to look so menacing when he wasn't. After a moment, the anger and threat faded from Tom's glance, and his arms lowered the sword down.

"Yeah, Jace?" Tom asked as he walked out of the house, no longer concerned about what might have been waiting for him.

"Hey, Tom," Jace greeted, waving a hand. "This is probably a really weird question, but has anything of yours gone missing recently?"

Tom nodded. "Yeah, my bed did. I died and had to find out the hard way. Why?"

Jace shook his head. "Just checking. Seems like some stuff's just… vanishing out of nowhere. My chat-pad; Jay's chat-pad; Dec's garden… By the way, you should stop by and visit Dec. He thought you might've done that to his plants."

Tom went pale and started off toward Declan's home. Despite his occasional feud with Declan or the teasing between them, the two Mianitees got along really well. "Not good! Hope you find the bastard that broke my bed!"

Jace sighed and flew off to ask the other Mianitees. Tucker and Sonja hadn't lost too much – just a few enchanted books that they had been anxious to find the time to use on weapons. Jordan lost some enderpearls, which he lamented quietly over because Polaris and the endermen were getting along so well that he didn't really want to go after them at risk of upsetting Polaris. Frustrated, Jace returned to Declan and listed off his findings to the priest so they could be passed on to the gods.

How can objects just disappear, with no real cause or connection between them? He wondered.

Jay growled as he woke up. "Ugh. Not been a week yet, has it?" He asked himself as he sat up in the bed.

A pillow suddenly smacked him and he glanced down, noticing that Lara was lying on the bed still. She was lying on her stomach with her wings sprawled out over the bed, one even resting in Jay's lap. Jay smiled a bit, but realized that he must've disturbed her sleep when he spoke and moved – and it was a surprise to him that Lara didn't like to be woken up because he'd assumed she was used to it.

"You're being loud," she groaned.

"Am not," he retorted before he laid back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, fingers idly trailing Lara's feathers.

She carefully drew her wings in against her back and rolled over onto her side, looking at him. "What's up?"

"The ceiling," he pointed out with a sly smirk forming across his face. "Beyond that, the sky."

"Well, then I suppose if there's nothing going on in that head of yours, I should be grateful," she teased in return.

"Maybe. It would be catastrophic," he joked, before changing the topic of the conversation by asking innocently, "so, I wake you up?"

She shook her head. "No, you didn't. I'm just a… really…"

Jay frowned. Lara sat up, glancing over his shoulder. He craned his neck to see what she was looking at, and noticed that she was looking out the window. Unable to understand what she had been caught off-guard by, he looked back over at her.

"What is it?"

"Did you dig up some of the saplings I planted?"

"Never. By rule, I don't mess with stuff you place."

Lara frowned. "Well, I planted them far enough away that I could see them from the bed, out of that window. They're gone."

"That's weird. Maybe someone is just joking around?" He suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe," she conceded. "Maybe it's the same person who took the chat-pads, if anyone really did take them."

"Well, they're doing a pretty good job at pissing me off. No one touches my girlfriend's things," he huffed.

She shook her head at him. "They're just saplings, Jay. I can get more."

"Still, they had potential to become magic bean stalks," he joked, "we need to get whoever it is."

She nodded. "At least to get the chat-pads back," she agreed, "I guess you were right. I'd rather you and Jace have them, in case something ever happens."

He nodded back at her. "Yeah. Bastard better not ever mess with you." When his stomach knotted and twisted, giving him an uncomfortable, sinking feeling, he admitted, "I just have this… feeling this might not be good."

Lara offered him a small smile. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, we'll face it together," she assured.

He smiled. "Sounds good."

He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the forehead before laying down. Lara smiled and got off of the bed, much to Jay's inquiry. After a moment of watching her bend to start cleaning their floor of feathers, he rolled and buried his face in a pillow, tempted to fall back to sleep.

"Hey, Jay?"

"Yeah, Lara?"

"What really happened a while ago? Back in the castle structure you had the Wizards make? I mean, I know what was going on outside, but Declan and Ianite both said there was something more going on."

Jay lifted his head immediately off of the pillow, looking over at her. Lara's gaze was on him, and innocent enough. She was just curious, but… it was killing him inside. He didn't want to scare her or worry her.

"Y-You mean when I was possessed?" He managed to ask, turning his gaze away from hers. Sometimes, it was as though her eyes could crack vaults. "I-It was a little fuzzy."

"I'm pretty sure you're lying," she pointed out, "but it's fine. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

He hesitated a moment, feeling like she was pulling a trick on him and trying to trip him up. He sighed. "No, you deserve to know," he admitted, "sit down. It is a doosie."

She nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Jay closed his eyes, keeping silent for a moment. He didn't know what he was waiting for – maybe to hear Lara insinuate that he should continue, but she was keeping quiet. After a moment longer, he felt a hand run comfortingly between his wings, rubbing gently against his back.

"The guy that attacked you was my creator," he started, "I thought he had died… We… We were in a battle for a long time… Maybe a week? I don't know the time difference."

"Two days," she supplied.

He nodded. "Well, we were locked in battle. For a while there, I was defenseless. The darkness did not know who to obey. He said he would torture y—" Jay choked up.

"Jay," Lara breathed, giving him a sympathetic look.

He frowned. "I had to resort to a few dirty tricks. I don't think I could have won otherwise," he finished, "but… he isn't dead."

"What…?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But I-I thought…?"

"That I won? I did. As best as I could have. What is darkness' natural enemy?" He inquired.

"Light," she answered immediately. Jay watched her face as she seemed to realize what she'd said, and probably why he hadn't wanted to tell her. "Me," she corrected herself.

Jay frowned. "Much as I hate to say it. I will be there with you… We can train in the meanwhile," he offered.

She nodded. "Okay."

"So, when to start? We will learn hand to hand, then you light abilities."

"Well," she said, "I suppose sooner is better than later. And, what better time to practice than one without the temptation of flight if you frustrate me?"

Jay grinned at her. "Yeah, let's head outside."